More Peruvian Adventures

When Brian and I returned to Lima, we had a couple of days of sightseeing to ourselves, and some time with Randi and Saul. We figured out their public transport system – – the bus! I took this picture out the bus window, because the sign says Alicia, and I think I intended to send it on to Alicia or something? :-)

We also found our way to some very nice dessert shops around town...

Here is Brian, getting ready to take a bite of a really tasty lemon cream cake. We shared it, along with some really strong hot chocolate. Our main motive was to use their Internet connection, but a little dessert never hurt anyone. :-)

I always love seeing a good street performer. This guy on stilts was pretty talented!

These shots below are of the central plaza in Lima. They had some really cool old style architecture surrounding the Square...

From the plaza, Brian and I hopped on a bus to go to the top of Mount St. Cristobal. I took this picture from the plaza, and the mountain is in the background, behind the colored houses on the hill. There is a big cross at the top.

All the colorful houses were really quite beautiful to look at from a distance. They really brightened up the gray hazy sky.

But as we got closer to them, I couldn't help but cry for the severe poverty of the people who must live there. Our bus wound its way up very narrow streets, passing hundreds of these homes, with roof caving in, no glass in the windows, and rebar sticking out of most of the rooftops. I kept wiping away tears...

Here's a view from partway up the mountain...

Selfie at the top…

The large cross was surrounded with flowers, candles, and mementos that people evidently left there in worship.

When we got back down to the Central Square, we decided to go in the famous cathedral.

It was really ornate and well-kept inside. I don't remember the historical details. But it had some interesting artifacts. :-)

The wooden carved choir seats are one of the highlights, apparently famous for their intricate details and great preservation.

And the crypt was open, so I took a peek. I was busy looking at some small baby coffins, when I turned around to find these guys staring at me…

They had some really gorgeous mosaics, with really colorful well preserved stones. Brian and I both love mosaics, so we were impressed!

We like to visit grocery stores when we travel. It's so fun to see what other countries stock on their shelves, but the labeling and packaging looks like, etc. we took this picture, because we found it a little humorous to find new tires across the aisle from toilet paper... Now, there's a  marketing scheme, for those who drive and have bathroom needs. :-)

They had a delicious looking deli area, with some local dishes that I would have liked to try. But we had already eaten, so we passed.

We spent our last evening at a ballet performance of Midsummer Night's dream. It was really well done! The costumes alone or mesmerizing, and the dancers are really talented. They asked us not to take pictures of the actual performance, and we obliged.

But here's one of me, before the show started. :-) Fun stuff!